Not "Wal-Mart State Park," But Close

No one is talking about hanging up a sign that says, “Wal-Mart State Park.”

But with 70 of California’s 270 state parks marked for shutdown, Parks Director Ruth Coleman said Wednesday that a completely different approach is needed.

“All of our parks are going to have to become more entrepreneurial,” Coleman said today on Sacramento’s NPR radio affiliate, KXJZ. “Whether you call that ‘commercial’ or not, there are lots of services that can be developed to create revenue. We have to figure out new ways to fund these parks, and some will be unconventional.”

That’s likely to raise alarm with park supporters who don’t want to see development of restaurants and concessions, saying that will harm the educational and recreational nature of the parks.